Man declared innocent after 30 years in prison

A Texas man has been exonerated after 30 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

A Texas man has been exonerated after 30 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

According to the Associated Press, Cornelius Dupree Jr. was set free earlier this week after DNA evidence proved that he was not responsible for the rape and robbery of a Dallas woman in 1979.

Reportedly, Cornelius had previously had two opportunities to be set free and make parole, but he would have had to admit to being a sex offender. The terms of that deal weren’t acceptable to the 51-year-old Texan, who maintained his innocence throughout his time in lockup.

"Whatever your truth is, you have to stick with it," Cornelius said shortly after his conviction was overturned on Tuesday. “It’s a joy to be free again.”

He was released in July on mandatory supervision and had been under house arrest up until October. The good news originally came a week after his release when DNA test results proving his innocence came back.

A hearing for his exoneration was held off until yesterday as authorities retested the sample to make sure they matched the victim.

After serving 30 years of his sentence, Cornelius was imprisoned longer than any other inmate in Texas that was eventually proven innocent through DNA. Under state law, he’s now eligible for a tax-free lump sum of $2.4 million in compensation for his wrongful imprisonment. That total, which includes a lifetime annuity, averages out to $80,000 for each year he was in prison.